So This is Love
by iloveromance
Summary: The romance of Niles and Daphne told as a fairy-tale Cinderella story. Daphne hopes her dreams of finding true love will come true, but obstacles stand in her way-in the form of her domineering mother and unwanted stepsisters. Completely and totally AU-and hopefully very romantic and funny!
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: I absolutely LOVE the Disney version of Cinderella which gave me the idea for this story. That being said please keep in mind that this story is EXTREMELY AU and it was hard to find ways to use characters from Frasier, so please bear that in mind in case they seem a bit "out of character"!. I tried to make it as humorous and romantic as possible and I hope you enjoy it!_ **

Once upon a time in a far away land called Manchester, there lived a beautiful maiden named Daphne Moon. She shared a modest house with her parents, Harry and Gertrude, and her annoying brothers; Simon, Michael, Peter, Billy, Nigel, David and Stephen.

She loved her family dearly and they were very happy, but she envied what every other girl in the land seemed to have-true love.

"There's no such thing as true love!" Her mum always said when she caught Daphne gazing out the window.

For Daphne could never resist a wedding announcement; an event signaled by trumpets that could be heard for miles and miles.

"How can you say that?" She countered one day when she was feeling especially bold toward her mum. "What about you and Dad?"

Her father was a romantic in every sense of the word, but obviously her mother couldn't see that.

"Your father and I are very happy with the way things are." Her mum explained. "We met; we got married and had children. End of story."

"But what about the romance?"

"Daphne, I don't have time for this." Her mum said. "Now please get the table set for dinner! Your brothers will be home soon!"

With a sigh, Daphne did as she was asked, but secretly she couldn't wait for her father to arrive home. And when he did, she ate her dinner quickly, hoping to catch him alone so that they could have a heartfelt talk.

Luckily she did find him alone; working diligently in the shed on what looked to be yet another elaborate project.

He worked so hard but received so little in pay in return. After all he did to support their family, it didn't seem fair. But she loved him unconditionally, just the same.

He was deep in concentration and she approached him slowly, taking great care not to disturb him.

He looked up, smiling when he caught a glimpse of her.

"Hello, Love. I thought you'd be reading your romance novels."

"I don't have time for stories, Dad. I want real romance."

"Someday Daphne you're going to find the man of your dreams; someone who will love you as though you're the only woman in the room."

Daphne hung on his every word, asking him all sorts of questions about the one thing she wanted most.

"Dad, how will I know when I've found true love?"

Her father smiled and kissed her cheek. "My sweet little girl, when you find true love you won't have to ask if it's real, because your heart will give you the answer."

And at that moment, Daphne vowed to find someone with whom to fall in love with. No matter how long it took.


	2. Chapter 2

That night Daphne had a dream...

_She was dancing in a large ballroom with the most handsome man she'd ever seen. _

_She couldn't see his face clearly, but he had blonde hair and the most amazing smile. _

_As they danced, a waltz to her favorite song, she could see the guests watching them in awe._

_ It was obvious that they had never seen such a beautiful couple, and certainly they couldn't have ever imagined that it was possible for two people to fall in love so quickly. _

_Daphne couldn't believe it herself. All of her life she'd wanted so much to fall in love and now she had. _

_When the dance ended, Daphne blushed at the applause they received. For her true love was a much better dancer than she. _

_Turning her attention to him once more, he took her hand and led her to a garden. _

_They sat down on a bench next to a beautiful fountain where he moved closer, brushing a lock of hair from her face._

_"You are so incredibly beautiful..." he said moving his face closer to hers.  
_

_She felt her heart beating rapidly as he moved closer and closer until their lips were just inches apart and then-_

* * *

"STILTS!"

The voice jolted her awake, leaving her more than a little shaken and her heart beat faster than she thought possible.

She looked around the room, cringing when she saw her brother grinning at her. Out of all of her brothers, he was definitely the most annoying.

"SIMON! What are you doing in here?"

"Well, it seems that mum needs your help with the chores."

"What, again? But it's your turn to do them!"

"Not anymore!"

Daphne's hands went to her hips in annoyance. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let's just say that all those days of skipping school taught me how to put one over on our parents."

She rolled her eyes. No wonder he was such an unsuccessful twit! He probably did a number on their father in order to get out of working as well. She was sure of it. While her other brothers slaved away in farm jobs in other cities, Simon seemed to have become the pride and joy of the Moon family.

"Well what are you waiting for, Stilts? Let's go!"

"Stop calling me that! You act like I'm ten feet tall!" she yelled.

Angrily she threw back the covers and climbed out of bed, shivering when her bare feet hit the cold concrete floor.

What she wouldn't give to have a pair of warm slippers. But those cost money and although she knew her loving father would buy them for her in a heartbeat. They barely had enough money to eat on, let alone such luxuries as slippers.

With a weary sigh, she changed out of her well-worn nightgown and headed into the kitchen for what would be another trying day of working hard.

She was certain that it wouldn't be long before her mum would appear in the doorway, only too happy to begin a conversation about how her brothers were so much more worthy of her love.

At this rate her dream of finding true love would never come true. And the thought made her want to cry.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite her exhausting morning spent scrubbing the windows and floors, doing the laundry and countless other chores, Daphne worked as fast as she could.

The dream from last night was still fresh on her mind and she longed to ask her father what it meant. Could it have been a vision?

Well, there was no sense in worrying about a silly dream that would never come true. Still, she had to know.

When she could clean no more, she removed her apron and ran to the shed where her father would be hard at work.

"Dad! Dad!" She yelled, running as fast as she could. "Dad, I have to tell you about this wonderful dream I had and-."

She stopped suddenly, horrified when she found that her father was nowhere in sight.

Where could he be?

"If you're looking for your father, he's gone."

At her mum's stern voice, she turned around; her heart beating rapidly.

"What do you mean?"

"He's gone, Daphne. I've sent him away and he won't be coming back."

"But-."

"You, your brothers and I will manage just fine without him. And if we can't... Well... I'll find someone to help us out."

"What about Dad? What about true love?" Daphne pleaded.

Her mother released a sigh of annoyance. "Daphne, how many times do I have to tell you...there is no such thing as true love?"

When her mother turned to leave, Daphne sank to her knees and sobbed into her hands.

Her mother was wrong; true love did exist! Her father had told her so.

But her father was gone now and Daphne never felt more alone.


	4. Chapter 4

For the next several days, Daphne was in a state of depression; missing her father terribly and putting up with her domineering mum and annoying brothers.

The only bright spot in her life was gone.

So it was when her mother cheerfully called her into the family room that Daphne had a glimmer of hope. For when her mum's tone was upbeat, it could only mean one thing; good news.

Eagerly she walked into the living room where her brothers were already gathered.

"What's going on?"

Her mum's usually stern expression changed into a smile. "Children, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

The Moon children watched eagerly as their mum walked out of the house returning seconds later with a man that Daphne had never seen before. He was short and somewhat stocky with dark wavy hair.

And the sight of him made Daphne cringe.

It was just like her mother to go out and find the first guy in sight to force her daughter into marrying.

"Who's this?"

"Children, this is Donny Douglas. I met him in town a few weeks ago. He helped to free me of your father."

Daphne was aghast. How could her mother bring such a terrible man into their home? He'd broken up her parents' loving marriage and here he was smiling as though he'd done something spectacular! It was almost as though he enjoyed breaking up happy couples!

Well, it simply wasn't going to happen to her. When she found someone, she would love him till the end of time; and vice versa.

Not that she'd ever find true love, but it was still a dream nonetheless.

After all, what is a dream but a wish one's heart makes when one is fast asleep?

Suddenly she felt herself being pushed toward this strange little man.

"Well go on! Don't be rude, say hello!" Her mum said.

Daphne took a step toward Donny and extended her hand. "Hello."

He smiled a little too eagerly and looked her up and down. What in the world did he find so fascinating about a plain brown dress patches on it?

"Well... When your mother said she had a daughter, she didn't mention that you were so beautiful."

Daphne rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Thank you." Then she turned to her mother.

"Mum, what is he doing here? I'm not in the mood to be paired with-."

"Nonsense! I'm not pairing him with anyone!" Her mother replied.

"Then what-."

Her mum smiled proudly and put her arm around the strange man.

"Children... Donny is going to be your new father!"


	5. Chapter 5

Daphne's mouth fell open in horror. This guy was going to be her new father? Why, he barely looked old enough to be her eldest brother!

Around her she could see her own annoying brothers shouting words of congratulations and slapping Donny on the back (albeit a bit forcefully), but she just couldn't join in.

To make matters worse, this Donny person talked incessantly about himself and about how brilliant he was when it came to breaking up marriages. How could her mum possibly choose this man over Daphne's father?

"Everyone, I have a surprise for you." Donny announced proudly.

The words made Daphne groan. If it was anything like her mum's surprise, this was sure to be horrible.

But "horrible" proved to be an understatement.

"Children, I'd like you to meet my ex-wives-um, I mean stepdaughters; Mel and Maris."

The reality that she was now related to these women caused Daphne to feel sick, but she willed the feeling away. Fully aware of the stern look from her mum, Daphne forced a smile and turned toward the women.

"Pleased to meet you both."

Mel, stared at her with disgust, as though Daphne didn't belong there. The woman was medium height with short dark hair and an attitude that was miles away from Daphne's sweet one.

The other woman, Maris, was extremely hard to describe. She was the thinnest, palest person Daphne had ever seen, and she was clearly annoyed with the situation; looking around the house as though she disapproved.

Daphne could tell right away that Maris was a woman who preferred riches and jewels to the simple things in life.

"Daphne, these are your new stepsisters. Will you please show them around our home?" Her mum's voice was sickly sweet; the way it always was when she was trying to impress someone.

Reluctantly, Daphne gave Mel and Maris a tour of her home; a chore that barely took any time at all considering its' small size.

And instantly she noticed that neither woman was at all impressed.

But as was her nature, Daphne smiled and attempted to be polite. After all, these were her stepsisters; as much as she hated that term.

She extended her hand in greeting; not at all surprised when Mel reached for her hand and then pulled away, as though Daphne had some sort of disease.

"Welcome to our home and I hope we'll become great friends."

As she extended her hand and began to shake hands with her sister Maris, Donny was by her side in an instant.

"Hey, not so hard!" he yelled, gently removing Maris' hand from Daphne's.

Confused by Donny's haste, Daphne's eyebrows rose.

"I didn't-."

"She's very delicate!" He explained. "Even the slightest pressure could cause her wrist to snap!"

Daphne's mouth fell open in horror. "But I barely touched her!"

When her eyes locked with Mel's, Daphne was humiliated by the woman's sarcastic smile. It was as though Mel enjoyed seeing Daphne's embarrassment and humiliation.

But as was Daphne's nature, she shrugged it off and tried to look on the bright side. Now that she had sisters, she'd no longer have to bear the brunt of the chores. And she was more than willing to help out her sisters if they needed it.

However, she soon found out that having two sisters only proved to make her feel like even more of a slave.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, aren't you finished yet?" Mel snapped when she saw Daphne wipe her brow while scrubbing the kitchen floor.

"I thought I told you to be done by the time we returned home from the market!"

Daphne sighed; she should be used to her sister treating her so cruelly but she supposed she'd never get used to such harshness.

"I wish I could have gone to the market with you." Daphne offered in an attempt to change the subject.

This caused Mel and Maris to laugh uproariously.

"_You_? What makes you think the townspeople want to see _you_?" Mel sneered.

"I'm a Moon, too!" Daphne insisted. "I deserve the same rights as everyone else in this family."

"No you don't! You deserve nothing!" Mel said. "And just look at this mess! Do you think Mum would let you leave when this house is so filthy?"

"How can you say that?" Daphne asked. "Why this house is spotless!" She looked around the house, admiring her hard work.

The floors shone, the kitchen counter tops glistened and the laundry was so fresh she could still smell the flowery scent of the soap.

Truth be told, she'd never seen the house look more spotless.

But Mel and Maris laughed again. "My God, are you just a complete idiot?" Mel asked.

Daphne swallowed hard, biting back the hot tears that rose to the surface.

And then Mel did something that Daphne didn't think anyone was capable of.

Before she realized what was happening, Mel stormed outside and grabbed a bucket, Curious as to Mel's intentions, Daphne stared at her though the window.

Mel walked to the backyard and scooped up a bucketful of mud. Then she immediately stomped back into the house and proceeded to toss the mud around the house; on the clean clothes, the counter tops and across Daphne's sparkling clean floor. And worst of all, on Daphne herself.

"The house doesn't look so clean now, does it? You'd better get this cleaned up before Mum and Donny return home!" Mel laughed.

Her outfit ruined, Daphne no longer cared what her sister's thought of her and she ran into her room; collapsing onto her bed in a fit of sobs.

Minutes later when she had calmed down some, Daphne decided to resume her cleaning. At this rate she'd be at it all night and would no doubt be exhausted in the morning.

But what was done was done.

Surprisingly her spirits were bright as she did the laundry, doing her best to wash the mud off the family's wardrobe.

Simon and Michael would be furious when they saw that their work clothes were soiled, but her favorite brother Stephen was a much kinder soul.

He would understand.

However, he wasn't home most of the time; working hard in the next town to help provide for the family.

Donny insisted that he was extremely rich from breaking up people's marriages, but Stephen loathed the idea, saying that he wanted to provide for the family the right way.

She was just about to begin scrubbing the floors when the trumpets began to sound.

Immediately Daphne scrambled to her feet, anxious to hear the announcement. For it meant that another couple had gotten engaged.

But no sooner had Daphne reached the window, when Mel and Maris pushed her aside.

"Get out of our way, Daphne!" Mel snapped.

When Daphne slipped on the wet floor and fell to the hard wood floor, Mel and Maris burst into a fit of laughter; the kind Daphne knew all too well... mocking.


	7. Chapter 7

Sitting in a pile of muddy, soapy water Daphne watched as Mel opened the door. True to her personality, Mel smiled brightly at the visitor.

"Mum, Donny! Look who's here, Noel, the Grand Duke!"

Daphne's head snapped up. What in the world was Noel, the Grand Duke doing here?

Noel only visited upper class families, and those who were in direct contact with the King and Queen.

Within seconds, her mum and Donny were at the door, ushering Noel inside.

"Well this is quite an honor!" her mum said, resuming her sweet tone.

Noel smiled bashfully; a trait very uncharacteristic of someone who should have been used to such compliments.

"What brings you here, Pal?" Donny asked. "Does the King have any marriages he'd like to see broken up?"

"Donny!" Daphne yelled in horror.

"Shut up, Daphne!" Mel yelled back. "Don't show such disrespect when someone as important as Noel is in our home!" Turning back to Noel, Mel smiled.

"Don't mind her, Noel. Daphne's just our _maid_."

Hurt by the shunning, Daphne turned around, praying that Noel wouldn't see the tears in her eyes.

It would be humiliating for someone of such high prestige as Noel the Grand Duke to see her crying over something so pathetic.

"To what do we owe this honor?" Donny asked.

"Well, the King has requested your daughter's appearance in the kingdom of Seattle to the Emerald City Ball in honor of his son, Prince Niles."

There was a collective gasp among the Moon women as Maris, Mel and their mum tossed question after question to Noel.

"A ball?

King Martin?

Prince Niles?

The Emerald City of Seattle?

The Castle?"

"Um... Yeah. All that." Noel said. "Well, here's the invitation. It's Saturday night and King Martin doesn't like tardiness so don't be late."

"We won't! Goodbye Noel!" Mel said, waving the invitation madly in the air.

When Maris grabbed it from her hand, Mel gently pushed her away, causing her to scream in pain.

"Mel, what have I told you about being so harsh with Maris?" Donny asked, immediately tending to Mel's bruised wrist.

Daphne was certain that she'd never seen someone bruise so easily.

"Girls, please! Let me see it!" Daphne's mum said, taking the envelope from Mel. She opened it and smiled.

"My, this is quite an honor. King Martin is requesting that every eligible maiden in the land attend!"

Daphne gasped. "Why that means I can attend too!"

The three women looked at her in horror. "_You_? What makes you think you're worthy of such a monumental event?" Mel asked.

Daphne swallowed hard, trying not to let her tears fall. "Well, I'm an eligible maiden and I do live in Manchester like you!"

"Girls, she has a point." Her mum said. "All right, Daphne. You may attend the ball."

"But Mum, you can't be serious!" Mel shouted.

"On one condition..." her mum continued.

"Oh, I'll do anything to meet Prince Niles!" Daphne said dreamily; her hands clutched to her heart.

Mel scoffed. "HA! What on earth makes you think he'd want to meet you? You're nothing but a... a maid!"

"What's the condition, Mum?" Daphne asked in a quivering voice. "Anything at all and I'll do it."

"That this house is completely spotless by tomorrow morning-and when I say spotless I mean not a thing out of place and not a speck of dirt to be found anywhere! Oh... and one more thing..."

"What?"

Her mum looked Daphne up and down with the same disgusted look that her sisters had given her.

"You must find something suitable to wear. You simply cannot go in that horrid dress!"

"Oh, I will! I'll get started on it right away!" Daphne said, hugging her mum.

"Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

"Hey, Daphne..." Mel said as she and Mel began to walk out of the room. "Why don't you start with the laundry?"

"But I've just finished-."

Daphne's sentence was interrupted by the sound of mud, sloshing all over her freshly cleaned laundry; a chore that she'd have to do yet a second time.

"Have fun, Daphne!" Mel called as she followed her mum and sister out of the house.

Daphne sighed and picked up the envelope that Noel had given them.

She was going to go to that ball one way or another, and she would do anything to make that happen.

For she wanted nothing more than to find true love.


	8. Chapter 8

When the house was completely spotless, Daphne smiled with satisfaction. She was sure that her mum would be pleased with her work, for she'd never worked at something so diligently in her life. Perhaps this would show her mum how much she wanted true love. There was no possible way she'd be kept away from the ball.

Grateful to be alone, she rushed to her room and closed the door. There, hidden under her bed was her most prized possession.

Carefully she slid the box out from under the bed and lifted the lid, smiling at what lay inside. It was a large, exquisite piece of fabric in the most beautiful shade of blue that she'd ever seen. It cost her almost a year's worth of savings; money she'd stashed away without anyone's knowledge, like a precious treasure.

When she saw the fabric draped over a mannequin in the store window, she knew that she had to have it. At the time she had no idea what she would do with it, but something told her that it would be perfect for an occasion that would surely change her life.

And now she finally had a reason to use it.

She got to work quickly, measuring and cutting the fabric and carefully sewing the edges until it was perfect. And when she was finished, she slipped her creation over her head and stared into the mirror. She could hardly believe that she was looking at herself. It was like a dream come true.

She was so pleased with what she had done that when Mel and Maris arrived home with her mother that she couldn't wait to show them.

"So the maid is still at work." Maris said curtly.

Normally Daphne would be hurt by such comments but now she refused to do so.

"Hello, Maris. Mel. Mum. Did you have a nice outing?"

"What do you care?" Mel snapped.

"Well, I just..."

"Did you finish cleaning the house?" her mum asked.

"Of course, Mum and I think you'll be pleased." Daphne said proudly.

As expected, her mum walked around the house, inspecting each and every nook and cranny to make sure that it was up to her ridiculously high standards. And when she finished, she walked over to Daphne and crossed her arms.

"Something wrong, Mum?"

" All right, Daphne. You may go to the ball."

Daphne's eyes lit up and she embraced her mother fiercely.

"Really? Oh, thank you Mum! You have no idea what this means to me! Thank you so much!"

"Don't expect this to be a normal occurrence, Daphne." Her mum said sternly.

"Oh no, of course not Mum!" Daphne said, hugging her mum once more. "Oh, I love you! Thank you so much!"

"You do have something suitable to wear, right?"

"Oh yes, I do!" Daphne said, excitedly holding up the dress she'd made. "Isn't it beautiful I made it meself!"

"Did you hear that, girls?" her mum asked. "Daphne's made her own dress for the ball!"

"Let me see that!" Maris said. She lunged for the dress, but Daphne pulled it away.

"No, I can't let you do that! Wait until the ball because I don't anything to spoil the surprise!"

Maris looked at Mel and their mum and smiled mischievously. "Well... All right."

"I'm going to go put this away before anything happens to it." Daphne said, carefully laying the dress over her a chair. "I'll be right back with a hanger. Oh, I can hardly wait to wear it to the ball!"

When she was gone, Maris turned to their mum and sighed. "Mum, you can't possibly expect her to go to the ball! She's completely unworthy!"

"Exactly, Mum! What were you thinking?" Mel screeched. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I know exactly what I've done." Their mother said. "Now girls, why don't you go and get the scraps for me so that we can discard of them properly."

"You mean-."

"Yes, Mel... Now go on!"

Mel and Maris exchanged looks and hurried throughout the house, looking for things to throw away.

"How about this?" Mel asked, holding up Daphne's dress.

"That's perfect!" Maris said excitedly. "Besides, who needs a ratty old piece of fabric anyway? It's just lying around, draped over the chair!"

Mel threw the dress over arms. "Anything else?"

Maris searched the house, pulling scraps and anything else she could find in order to make their mother happy.

"All right, are we ready?" Mel asked.

"Ready!" Maris agreed.

Just then Daphne rushed into the room. "I can't believe I forgot to get my... where is it?"

"Where's what?" Mel asked shrugging her shoulders.

"My dress! It was right here, draped over this chair!" Daphne explained.

"Dress? I don't remember seeing any dress, do you , Maris?" Mel asked.

"What are you talking about? I just showed it to you not fifteen minutes ago!" Daphne cried. It was right over-."

She stopped suddenly and looked outside where the smell of smoke was coming from the front door.

"What's this?"

Mel and Maris looked at each other and smiled, pointing at the pile of scraps that was burning in the front yard.

"Oh that? Those are the scraps mum wanted us to take care of."

Daphne walked outside, peering at the pile of singed fabric. And that's when she knew...

"Y-you didn't!"

"Well, I'm afraid that we did." Mel said. "If you hadn't been so careless to leave your dress out in the open, this would never have happened!"

"B-but..."

"Goodnight, Daphne!" Maris said. When she and Mel made eye contact they burst into a fit of laughter. "Have fun at your ball!"

Daphne quickly put out the fire and picked through the debris. In her hand was the charred remains of her beautiful dress. The one she'd wanted to wear to the ball. It was ruined forever.

Her chest began to hurt and hot, angry tears filled her eyes. Without another word she began to run as far as she could. And when she could run no more, she sank to her knees in a beautiful garden, sobbing into her hands.

Her dreams of finding true love and happiness had gone up in flames, just like her beautiful dress.


End file.
